Wreaths Across America was founded in 1992 as an extension of the Arlington Wreath Project, and is a non-profit organization with the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach. The Arlington Wreath Project was started by Morrill Worcester (Worcester Wreath) with an initial donation of 5,000 Christmas wreaths being laid at gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery,

The Wreaths Across America program was relatively obscure until 2005 when a photo of the gravesites adorned with wreaths and covered in snow circulated on the Internet thereby receiving national attention. Thousands of people from all over the nation forwarded requests asking to emulate the Arlington project at their nearby National or State cemeteries. Mr. Worcester was unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each site, but conceived the idea of sending seven wreaths (one for each branch of military as well as POW/MIA) to the designated locations. In 2006, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol as well as other civic organizations, over 150 locations simultaneously held wreath laying ceremonies. By the following year, over 60,000 volunteers participated in laying 100,000 wreaths on veteran’s graves while promoting the core mission of Wreaths Across America of Remembering, Honoring and Teaching.

The Wreaths Across America organization has also reached out to thousands of children with their message of Remember, Honor and Teach while emphasizing the importance of honoring each and every fallen serviceman. In 2008 the United States Congress authorized the second Saturday in December as the official day of commemoration.

Wreaths Across America would be unsuccessful without the valuable assistance of the volunteers, many active organizations, and the generosity of the trucking ndustry.
Andersonville National Cemetery hosted the annual ceremony on December 12, 2009. If you or your organization would like to volunteer to assist with the laying of these wreaths in the future, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Lindsey Phillips, Andersonville National Historic Site. For more information on Andersonville National Historic Site, please visit their website at www.nps.gov/ande

Dear Abby:
In May 2001, you printed my letter alerting former prisoners of war and their widows to the special veterans' benefits available to them from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The response was great; many former POWs and their dependents now have their VA benefits because of that column.

Now, as chairman of VA outreach for American Ex-Prisoners of War, I write to alert all veterans (not just former POWs) of a recent VA ruling.

On Sept. 23, 2008, Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was made a presumptive condition for all veterans who served in our armed forces for at least 90 days.

This means that the widows of those veterans who died of Lou Gehrig's disease in years past are eligible for the VA widows' monthly benefit, which is very substantial. Many people are not aware that a veteran's death due to this disease is now considered service-connected. One claim I handled recently involved an ALS death 46 years ago, in 1963.

Thank you for your help in getting the word out, Abby.
Fred Campbell, American Ex-Prisoners of War

Dear Fred:
I'm pleased to help you and America's veterans once again.

From The Federal Register, Sept. 23, 2008:
Veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may receive badly needed support for themselves and their families after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that ALS will become a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active service in the military. "Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action,"

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said. He based his decision primarily on a November 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the association between active-duty service and ALS. The new interim final regulation applies to all applications for benefits received by VA on or after September 23, 2008, or that are pending before VA, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on that date.

For a listing of American Ex-Prisoners of War National Service Officers, click here.

AXPOW NSO

For a listing of Paralyzed Veterans of America National Service Officers Service Officers, click here:

PVA NSO

To download Department of Veterans Affairs VA Form 21-534, click here:

VBA-21-543.pdf

Many American Ex-prisoners of war are unaware of their entitlements. We can do them a great service if we can find them. The Veteran's Administration estimates that 32,550 Ex-POWs were alive as of December, 2004 (the last year statistics were published). This was a drop of 10% from 2003. If we estimate declines of 10% for 2005, 2006 and 2007, there are fewer than 23,000 alive in 2008. We also know there are fewer than 10,000 who are members of our organization at this time. We need to continue to encourage VA to help in our quest to find both living POWs and their dependents so that they can claim the entitlements they deserve. Fred Campbell of San Angelo, TX is the chairman of AXPOW’s Outreach Committee. Please contact him if you know of a POW or widow who is not receiving VA benefits. His articles appear monthly in the EX-POW Bulletin.

Legislation has made significant changes to benefits and health care available through the Veteran's Administration. Veterans who have not recently sought services from the VA should contact a National Service Officer (Click here for NSO directory) or the VA to explore which VA resources are available to them.

Other benefits, besides medical, available to eligible veterans include: disability compensation, pensions, education and training, vocational rehabilitation, home loan guarantees, life insurance, burial, survivors' assistance and dependents' education.

There are homeless veterans programs and benefits for special groups, such as blinded veterans, veterans with spinal cord injuries and veterans in need of prosthetic services.

Please consider saving your oral history, memoirs, diary, and/or letters home. By leaving your oral history you will have done your country another good deed. You will serve future generations as they strive to understand their world.

Click here for some excellent advice from noted historian Stephen Ambrose on how to start preserving your history.